TERMINOLOGY
Embroidery This is the most popular method of branding headwear, bags, and most garments. Embroidery provides a more corporate and retail look with a high perceived value. Prices are based on the number of stitches in the logo rather than the number of colours. A free set up for orders over 100 units is also offered. NB* All quotes containing embroidery are based on up to 7500 stitches unless otherwise specified.
Screen Printing A highly effective method of achieving a spot colour or 4 colour process for branding on garments and other materials, particularly if a large branding area is required. A white base print must be applied (and is an additional colour) to any garment that is not white.
Pad Printing The perfect way to brand small items, with a general maximum print area of 5 x 5cm this method is usually reserved for stationery items and executive accessories.
Plastisol Transfers Similar to a screen print only the design is applied on a sheet in reverse and then covered with a fine powder glue. The design is then applied with a heat press to the chosen product. Limited by size and product, this is most commonly used on bags, compendiums, caps and similar items with a porous surface.
Foil Stamping A process whereby your logo is stamped under great pressure which leaves a fine metallic foil within the specified area. Great on diaries, awards, leather goods etc...
Laser Engraving A digitally programmed laser etches your chosen logo permanently with perfect precision onto almost any metal surface. This process is best for single colour logos and is superb for fine lines and intricate details.
Embossing Similar to foil stamping, embossing is a process in which your logo is stamped under great pressure into the actual surface of your product. This is generally only done on soft surfaces such as leather & PVC. It is an ideal way to brand diaries, personal organisers, etc in a classic and subtle manner.
Print File Formats These brief definitions will help you better understand how each file format is best used. .PDF (Preferred for most files) PDF (short for Portable Document Format) is a file format developed by Adobe as a means of distributing compact, platform-independent documents. PDF captures formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient's monitor or printer as they were intended. .EPS (Preferred for large signs and banners) EPS (short for Encapsulated PostScript) is a vector format designed for printing to PostScript printers and imagesetters. It is considered the best choice of graphics format for high resolution printing of illustrations. EPS files are created and edited in illustration programs such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW. .JPG (Preferred for images) JPG (short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, and pronounced jay-peg) is a file format best used for photo images which must be very small files, for example, for web sites or for email. JPG uses lossy compression (lossy meaning "with losses to quality"). Lossy means that some image quality is lost when the JPG data is compressed and saved, and this quality can never be recovered. .TIFF (Preferred for high resolution images) TIFF (short for Tagged Image File Format) is an industry standard designed for handling raster or bitmapped images. TIFF files can be saved in a variety of color formats and in various forms of compression. TIFFs use lossless compression to maintain image integrity and clarity and are often used for professional photography. .GIF and .PNG GIF (short for Graphics Interchange Format) is a file format for storing graphical images up to 256 colours. It uses a lossless compression method which makes for higher quality output. PNG (short for Portable Network Graphics) was created as a more powerful alternative to the GIF file format. PNGs are not restricted to the 256-colour limitation of GIF files and have better compression. A PNG file can be saved with a transparent background which allows you to place your image on top of another image without an outlining white box. .ZIP ZIP is a file format used for data archiving and compression. A ZIP file contains one or more files that have been compressed and bundled to reduce file size and allow for easy file transfers. ZIP files can be created by right-clicking on a file or folder and selecting "Compress" (Mac) or "Send To > Compressed/Zipped Folder" (PC). Once a ZIP file is received (ex. via email) it must be "unzipped" or de-compressed before the files themselves can be accessed. |
